Man I put down 0 and pay a bit over 500 and own a $34,800 stickered car. Leasing to me is for german cars.

 

Here were my options:
1) Buy car/finance (trade in old or sell to private party)
2) Lease car (cash out for old or sell to private party)
3) Buy car/no finance

Obviously, buying a car with cash is your best bet, but I didn't have the $$. Considering the other two options, it was much more attractive to me to lease the car and deposit the money from my old car in an account. I put the extra between the lease vs buy payment in the same account. At the end of my lease, I'll have more than enough to buy it if I wanted and will come out about $900 ahead. Keep in mind, this does not account for the interest I will be making on the money in the account and that it gives me total flexibility if I want to do something different after the 3 years.

That's just my situation, I'm not trying to argue one way or another.

 

I was using my $18-20K price estimates from the numbers being posted on here. This was also factoring in the downpayment. I'll admit that I don't know a whole lot about leasing. A downpayment is a downpayment. Correct? It's not a security deposit, right?

I guess I really don't see any purpose in leasing unless you're doing it for 1-2 years. That's just my opinion though. There are way too many constraints when it comes to leasing (mileage limitations, you don't own the car, mods are questionable, reconditioning cost). The biggest problem I see with leasing is you pay a more money for a car you don't own after 36-39
months.

Simple example, the average G35 sedan buyer pays around $37K and that's including financing and taxes. If the owner were to sell the car after 3 years, they'll easily get $25K for it assuming the miles are good (40-50K). In the end, they spent $12K on the car. The leasee on the otherhand will end up spending $16-20K over a 3 year period.

Even if the leasee were to put away his typical $15K downpayment and make 5%-6% on his investment, he'd still be behind the buyer.

As for a price collapse, I don't think you'll have resale problems with the G35 nor will there be a huge car market collapse. I guess anything is possible, but the used 03/04 G35s are very desirable and have very good overall reliability. The resale value of the 03/04 is quite good, especially in this weak used car market.

 

There is one HUGE flaw in your assessment! You assume that because the G35 will Blue Book around $23K-$25K that you would be able to get that after 3 years. Used cars are not as easy to get rid of as they used to be. They have to be in absolute mint shape with low miles to trade them into a place like carmax and some dealers won’t even take used cars unless you practically give it to them. Just because KBB says it is worth XXX dollars it doesn’t mean that someone will buy it for that. Heck $23K-$25K is probably the dealer price after 39 months of use. You would be lucky to get $20K-$21K from them for the car. The beauty of leasing is that you can save your money right now and pay a little more over the lease term. However, at the end of the lease you have the option to buy it or walk away. The appraised value might be high then but maybe you won’t find a buyer because everyone will want a Hybrid then. It is too much of a crap shoot for me to risk $37K on it. I would rather pay a little more for the extra security of knowing that I don’t have to sell the car on my own if I don’t want to. Now if you drive a lot then a lease is not usually a good option. However, high mileage cars don’t resale very well anyway.

 

G's around here are in high demand in the used market. Just like for any car, if they are desired they are easy to sell regardless of the market conditions overall for used cars. My dealer called me and mails me daily begging me to trade my car in just because they can sell it for 26 - 28 in the retail market as CPO. This and especially the coupe are a couple of the hottest used cars out there.

 

There's a resale value guarantee you get with a lease too. If I'm leasing a car, and get in a big wreck, and I have it repaired to the leasing company's level of quality (necessary with a lease anyways) then the residual doesn't change.

If I owned that car, I just knocked several thousand off the resale price.

Also gap insurance is another compelling reason to lease.

It's all very subjective and it's different for everyone, but the general message is, if you don't intend to keep the car past 4 years or less, leasing makes financial sense; if you want to keep the car more than 4 years, then leasing is a the wrong option.

 

I'm not talking trade-in and there is no way in HELL I'd ever use KBB to dictate my car's value. KBB is owned and operated by a seller's union (ie the guys trying to sell you a car and tell you what it's worth on trade). They downplay your car's value dramatically. I use NADA (www.nada.com). NADA lists my 03's (fully loaded except nav) value at an average retail value $28,000 and $24,500 average trade-in value. I'll admit that I think that's a little optimistic though, but it gives me an idea that my cars real value lies in between KBB and NADA. At this very moment, there are handful of three year old 03 G35 sedans within 150 miles of Kansas City selling for $24K-27K and not one them is as optioned as mine. I'm pretty certain I could sell the car easily for $25.5K, which is more that what I paid for it 7 months ago during stint of bad weather and dealerships couldn't sell any cars. The 04 sedans are going for 25-28K. These cars last about a week in the paper/internet. The truth is these cars sell easily and the resale is there.

I take very good care of my car's and I've ALWAYS gotten top dollar when I've sold them or traded them in. I'm a patient guy and I'll never be rushed into buying or trading. I'll wait until I get what I want.

 

Where!? infiniti.com shows a 36 month lease for $369 plus $3,019 = 35 * 369 + 3,019 = $15,934. This is based on full MSRP which nobody should pay.
An illusion -- The bank owns your car.
You're dreaming. More like $21k. Check 2003 models in June 2006.
NOBODY gets top dollar on a trade-in. Good one!

 

G's a great car to lease because it holds its value well. I found the best thing to do is play with the leasing calculator to find the sweet spot, where the price is lowest. Was 39 months when I checked it last. If you went to 36 or 42, monthly went up.

In the end my accountant told me there's no right or wrong answer--it depends on you. If you're going to get a new car every 3-4 years anyway, and you drive low miles (and take care of a car), leasing is probably a cheaper option (because you also get to write off part of the lease payments which you can't do if you buy). Remember in a lease, all you're paying for is the depreciation.

He said it you're going to keep a car 4-5 years at least, buying is probably a better way to go. I just learned my lesson after my first lease that the trick is to find the cars that hold their value more.

 

(Purchase)
$32,400 before fees, taxes, etc.
$35,400 after fees, taxes, etc.
2005 Sedan, Premium C, Splash Guards, Trunk Mat

I financed the car 0 down for 60 months @ 2.9%, which works out to be $641 / month. My former "new car" fund is currently sitting in a gmac money market account earning 4.4% interest (http://www.gmacbank.com/rateTable.do). Hah... rates went up slightly. Go figure.

 

i'm buying the car, not leasing it. considering my care was $37k+ sticker price and i'll be paying a little over $37k+ after taxes and financing charges. i think thats a pretty good deal.

 

Smart idea unless you need to qualify for a mortgage.

 

I'm curious as to how you would think he wouldn't qualify for a mortgage? I bought mine and qualified for 4 since.

 

A lease comparison on the exact same car I leased on 8/24:

Diamond Graphite/Graphite
Premium C
Splash
Trunk Mat

MSRP - $35,140
Invoice - $32,164
Selling price - $31,164
36 months / 12k miles per year
money factor .0014
residual 59%
Drive off (license, fees, docs, first payment) is $728.44.
Monthly payment, including 8.25% sales tax, is $409.69.

I'm not making any commentary toward the buy vs. lease argument; I'm just putting the numbers out there for digestion. -scd

(But let's just say I'm glad to have the additional $230 a month in my pocket or my investment accounts.)

 

I'm just using the data supplied to me on the post.

True, they currently own about $9K of my car. However that doesn't stop me from selling it whenever I want without significant penalties or mileage limitations.

June 2006 what? Are you talking trade or retail sale? I could believe $21K-22K on a trade. If you're talking retail, get on Cars.com and see how the cars are selling for in your area. In 150 mile area surrounding Kansas City, three year old 03 sedans are selling for $24-27K at dealers and from private individuals. Mileage varys from 25-40K. I'm not making this up. This area emcompasses Kansas City-KS, Kansas City-MO, Omaha-NE, and Des Moines-IA. In your neck of the woods, 03 G35 sedans are selling for $24-27K with 25-40K miles and most are without the premuim package. Figure $22,500-25,500 for the true selling price.

Well I do. I've always gotten NADA trade-in value on my cars. I take care of my cars and the mileage is often 15-20% below average. I've never let a dealer dictate the value of my cars nor will I let them over value the car I want to buy. I pay and trade with fair market values. Nothing more, nothing less.